ECCO Blog

Join Us in the Final Push for Criminal Justice Reform

September 21, 2017

Happy Jewish New Year to our Jewish brothers and sisters! After three years of organizing around criminal justice reform,
thank God, the fruits of our labors are finally being rewarded. Because we organized together, our legislators have
made criminal justice reform a priority for this fall. Yet, we know that reform will only pass if we keep…Read More >>

Shanah Tovah, Wishing You A Happy Jewish New Year

September 20, 2017

In the Jewish calendar, this is a season of repentance and renewal. In these troubled times, we insist that we and the world
are capable of change, that the wrongs of our past must not define our future…Read More >>

Trump Ends DACA for Immigrant Youth

September 5, 2017

Today President Trump ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and thus has left over 800,000 immigrant youth
vulnerable to separation from their families and deportation. This action on the part of the Trump Administration is
immoral, an attack on the humanity of youth and the sacred unity…Read More >>

Join To Fight for My Family and Other Low Wage Workers

September 5, 2017

Buenos dias! I hope you are well! This Fall, ECCO will be working on an issue close to my heart: raising the minimum wage
to $15/hour. Together, following our successful model from 2014 when we collected 23,516 signatures of registerd voters,
we are working to collect enough signatures…Read More >>

A Moment of Danger and Opportunity

August 24, 2017

Thank you to all who supported ECCO financially by joining us on our Annual Boat Cruise this past Sunday; it was lots of
fun!! A special thank you goes to 7 Seas Whale Watch for the generous donation of their ship! …Read More >>

Thank You For Making Our March for Racial Justice a Success

June 21, 2017

Thank you so much for helping to make yesterday’s march and rally for racial justice such a success! People of every color
and creed marched from Zion Baptist Lynn to First Church Swampscott, insisting that even though communities like Lynn
and Swampscott can feel worlds apart, we are both geographically and morally interconnected. Through powerful testimony,
preaching, and…Read More >>

Join us to March for Racial Justice on the Anniversary of the End of Slavery

June 15, 2017

On June 19th, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas, with the news that enslaved Blacks were
now free. Commemorating this moment, former slaves and their descendents created “Juneteenth,” the oldest known national
holiday marking the end of Black slavery in the U.S. We still celebrate it to…Read More >>

Stand with Your Immigrant Brothers and Sisters This Week

June 8, 2017

Last month, a New Jersey grandfather named Catalino Guerrero faced a deportation hearing with ICE. Catalino and his family
were almost certain he would be torn away from them and deported. But when our sister group, Faith in New Jersey organized
100 clergy to accompany him to his hearing with ICE, Catalino was sent home to live free in the…Read More >>

Support the Victims / Immigrant Action on May Day

April 21, 2017

Last night, over 150 ECCO community members gathered to mourn the passing of Lenny Clement and pray for Prince Belin, who
were tragically shot while walking home on Sunday. Together, we affirmed that in our Beloved Community,no one must stand alone… Read More >>

Tragic Shooting of Two ECCO Leaders

April 18, 2017

Our hearts are heavy, as we share this tragic news with you. Two Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) leaders were
shot while walking home from Easter services. One man by the name of Leonardo (Lenny) Clement has passed away from injuries
sustained during the shooting, while the other Prince Belin is currently hospitalized…Read More >>

What I Learned from Pope Francis

March 1, 2017

I recently returned from the World Meeting of Popular Movements in CA. There, I heard Pope Francis speak about his admiration
for PICO and its affiliates like ECCO. He said that we must be good neighbors, and come together to help anyone in need
by finding opportunities to respond with compassion to those suffering most from…Read More >>

Beloved Community Strategy, Phase Two

February 7, 2017

On January 5th, nearly 100 ECCO members came together to ask questions about our strategy for enacting real, substantial
criminal justice reform in Massachusetts. We asked hundreds of questions to discern what the most pressing issues and
targeted strategies are. Here…Read More >>

Call Today for Muslim and Immigrant Rights!

January 30, 2017

This weekend, the President’s politics of hate and fear that have swept our country took yetanother toll. But we resisted.

Thousands of protesters flooded Logan airport on Saturday, and Boston’s Copley Square on Sunday, to say that we will
not stand by passively while people’s lives and livelihoods are being…Read More >>

Immigrant Families Need You Now More Than Ever

November 11, 2017

Last night we filled St. Stephen’s Church in Lynn to listen to each others’ anger, sorrow, despair and fear. We shared thoughts
on the election and on how we will respond to the aggression against our communities.Click here for news coverage of our gathering…Read More >>

A Call to Community and Action

November 9, 2016

Our faith traditions exhort us to love one another and to love our planet. To us this means bearing witness to the pain and
despair among the vast majority of voters in our country. It is not about blaming people for their political choices.
Throughout the election cycle we…Read More >>

Take Action to End Mass Incarceration

November 7, 2016

I just returned from Standing Rock in North Dakota. There I joined over 550 clergy from across the U.S. representing over
20 faith traditions to pray in solidarity with the Lakota Dakota people as they stand up to protect the water source
for 14th states as well as their sacred burial…Read More >>

ECCO to Host Implicit Bias Training for Lynn Police Department

June 26, 2016

I am thrilled to share a holy and historic opportunity for ECCO and the Lynn police. In April, ECCO leaders met with the
Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger and 10 Lynn police officers in order to promote understanding and trust between Lynn
police and our Black and Latino sisters and brothers…Read More >>

Voter Engagement Plan for the Home Stretch

October 20, 2016

In the Jewish community, we just concluded the High Holy Days, where Jews recommitted ourselves to the possibility of positive
change and transformation. In our civic life, Americans are entering the homestretch of our election season, where weas a nation reaffirm the possibility of positive change and…Read More >>

Sheriff’s Forum a Success, All Candidates Commit to Our Agenda

October 12, 2016

Over the past several months, I have been blessed to get more involved in ECCO, and to witness the power that we have here
in Essex County when people of faith from all backgrounds work together. Last week was no…Read More >>

Facing the Killings of Young Black Men, ECCO Sherriff’s Forum

September 28, 2016

Over the past two weeks, we have witnessed the senseless killings of 13 year-old Tyre King from Columbus OH, 40 year-old
Terence Crutcher from Tulsa OK, 43 year-old Keith Lamont Scott from Charlotte NC, and Alfred Olango in El Cajon, CA,
all at the hands of police. We lament the…Read More >>

ECCO Vigil and Implicit Bias Training: Responding to the Police Shootings of Black men in MN and LA

Recap and Resources from Our Team Building Training

May 19, 2016

In the Jewish calendar, we are in the process of counting the Omer, the span of 50 days from Passover to Shavuot/Pentecost.
Each week is connected with one of thesphirot, the ten aspects of God according…Read More >>

The Problem With Working on Racial Justice

March 22, 2016

Since returning from maternity leave, I have met with dozens of leaders. Together, we have been grappling with the question
of how we can confront racial injustice in our communities given all we are up against. In this…Read More >>

Action Alert: Call Your Legislators on the Jobs Not Jails Bill

February 11, 2016

As you may have heard, ECCO has been working with the Jobs Not Jails Coalition to pass legislation to tackle mass incarceration
here in MA. One of the most important actions we can take to prevent ex-prisoners from returning to crime is ensure
that they have…Read More >>

Victory for Earned Sick Time for One Million Workers!

November 5, 2014

Last night, we won earned sick time as voters overwhelmingly approved Question 4! Because of your work over the last year
and half, one million people in Massachusetts will no longer have to choose between caring for themselves or a loved
one and losing…Read More >>

You Made History! Minimum Wage Passes!

June 27, 2014

Yesterday, you made history! Governor Deval Patrick signed legislation to increase the state minimum wage from$8 to $11, raising wages for600,000 Massachusetts residents. In 1912, Massachusetts became the first state to enact a minimum wage. Now,
one hundred and two years later, Massachusetts again has become the national leader with thehighest state minimum wage in the…Read More >>